Effects of 5 Hz Auditory Beat Stimulation on Mind Wandering and Sustained Attention in an Online Experiment

Mind wandering (MW) can undermine productivity, affect mood, and even pose potential dangers. Selectively reducing MW during specific tasks would therefore be desirable. This study explored auditory beat stimulation (ABS) to reduce MW and increase sustained attention. In an online experiment with 541 participants, we applied ABS (binaural or monaural presentation, pure tones at 437.5 Hz and 442.5 Hz) during the sustained attention to response task (SART) while employing experience sampling probes to monitor MW. We used two control conditions: no sound and uniform pure tone at 440 Hz. Additionally, we implemented three experimental manipulations aiming at increasing the MW frequency during the SART (length of SART inter-stimulus interval, sequence of SART stimuli in ascending or random order, and expectancy of a creativity task after the SART). ABS did not significantly impact the frequency of reported MW or SART % NOGO success. Of the three additional manipulations only the sequence of SART stimuli led to a significant difference in reported MW and SART % NOGO success. We found no substantial evidence for 5 Hz ABS as a universal strategy to reduce MW or increase sustained attention during the SART.